Natalie has held a variety of roles across the Commonwealth and NSW public service. She has a strong interest in health and leadership, and is passionate about the development and implementation of programs that provide the best outcomes for all people but particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

In 2009, the National Health and Hospital Reform Commission released a report including 123 recommendations across four themes. The recommendations included substantial reforms to the structure, governance, and funding of Australia's health care system. The government's response the following year supported or noted 122 of the 123 recommendations. One recommendation was rejected - the recommendation to establish a National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Health Authority. This came within a year of Australia's endorsement of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), a declaration which foregrounds the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination.  

The decision to reject the establishment of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Authority appears to be in contradiction to other decisions made in the relation to Indigenous affairs at the time. This research seeks to understand why this reform to facilitate Indigenous self-determination within the Australian hospital system failed to be implemented. It investigates potential structures that might facilitate Indigenous self-determination in the hospital system in Australia, and the reform processes that might be needed to realise them.

Supervisor: Dr Francis Markham

Publications

• Perkins R and Bryant N (14 March 2026) 'There's a new plan to help First Nations students from daycare to uni. What does it need to work?' The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/theres-a-new-plan-to-help-first-nations-students-from-daycare-to-uni-what-does-it-need-to-work-273899
• Veasey A, Bryant N and Wenitong M (2025) 'Indigenist Health System Reform Agenda', in Bennett B and Menzel K (eds) Indigenous Research Knowledges and Their Place in the Academy. Indigenous-Settler Relations in Australia and the World, Vol 7, Springer, Cham.
• Bryant N (2024) 'Introducing Indigenist Critical Policy Analysis: A rights-based approach to analysing public policies and processes', Australian Journal of Social Issues, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.350